Thanksgiving Day
We celebrated Thanksgiving Day in our complex with a potluck in our clubhouse.
I was seated beside an older man who is a confirmed and very vocal atheist.
He chose an ice-breaker question from the bowl of printed slips of paper
in the center of the table, and directed the question to me.
"If you were stranded on a deserted island what is the one thing you would wish
you had with you?"
I gave him my immediate answer, "My Bible."
He gave me a bit of a stunned look but made no comment until a few minutes later,
when he leaned toward me and said,
"The reason I wouldn't take a Bible is because I only read non-fiction."
I smiled and didn't 'bite'.
I recently read that there is a difference between being thankful and gratitude.
Thankful is something you feel,
but gratitude takes thankfulness to the level where the feeling
must be expressed to the one responsible for what made you thankful.
If we deny God and refuse to acknowledge all He has done for us -
gratitude has no expression, since all good gifts come from Him.
It is like receiving a 'perfect' and generous gift from an anonymous giver,
that leaves us with that stuffed-up feeling of gratitude because it has no where to go!
Tomorrow is the Canadian Thanksgiving Holiday
- the one day of the year
when we know the word 'thanksgiving' will be spoken by most everyone.
But let us do more than verbalize the word;
let us remember to Whom we owe thanksgiving for the bountiful blessings
we are so grateful for.
I challenge you to make a 'thankful' list today or tomorrow
and see how full and blessed your life is.
Many studies have shown that a thankful attitude changes our lives
- it makes us healthier and happier.
But didn't God tell us that a long time ago?
"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
I Thessalonians 5:18
A Blessed Thanksgiving Day to you all ...
whether you are celebrating the day or not!